• LeBron James hit 8 of 13 shots from the field for 23 points against the Atlanta Hawks. That was in the third quarter, his best quarter of the year but for his 24-pointer against the mighty Cleveland Cavaliers in December. In the other three quarters, he scored 20 points in a 21-point win. [Miami Herald]

• President Obama went 29-3 in round-of-64 tournament picks. These are the types of things that happen when you pick chalk, whether you're the leader of the free world or not. One of those three is Louisville. So, another way to look at it: He's at least 0-1 for the Sweet Sixteen at this point. Oh, and he's a Socialist from Kenya who doesn't care about Japanese people. [Yahoo Sports]

• The president also picked Georgetown over VCU in last night's game. Final score: VCU 74, Georgetown 56. So, the 19 people who've gone 31-1 in the ESPN bracket competition have every right to argue they'd be a better leader. [Times Dispatch]

• After losing to No. 8 George Mason, No. 9 Villanova's coach Jay Wright said, "We're all dying. And I think that's why I like being a college coach. If I was a pro coach? With what happened here? I wouldn't be talking about learning lessons. We'd all be out of here." Job security, good. [Philadelphia Daily News]

• And now, after a 30-point loss to Michigan, Bruce Pearl waits to hear if he still has a job in which he can wear flamboyant orange suits and/or body paint. [The Tennessean]

Police say they think it was initially an attempted robbery, but after a verbal and physical confrontation in which the woman pulled the bandanna off the assailant's face, he brandished a gun and fired a shot into the air. He then shot Walker and fled the scene on foot, according to police. [Boulder Daily Camera]

• The Hansbrough boys seem to like playing with thongs. You're welcome, Florida State fans who brought Sharpies and poster board to Chicago. [Indy Cornrows]

• Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel wants to do away with the middleman and just have football players negotiate with football-team owners. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello responded with a veiled quip about how the middlemen would love to continue negotiating. [PFT]

• Ichiro has donated roughly $1.25 million to the Japanese Red Cross to help with quakenami relief efforts. [Seattle Post Intelligencer]

• The driver in the crash that nearly killed national-team soccer player Charlie Davies was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and maiming while driving intoxicated. Another passenger, Ashley Roberta, was killed. The crash cost Davies a shot at playing in the World Cup. [Washington Post]